Forget Me Nots
by Jezunya
Summary: Betrayal. Anger. At last… It’s mine..! “Inuyasha!” My eyes widened… [Ch4 Enemies] Ch3 & 4 edited & reposted 6.21.05
1. Waking in Darkness

**"Forget Me Nots"  
by Jezunya**

**Prologue - Waking in Darkness**

It was beginning to end. The darkness was beginning to fade. For what seemed almost an eternity, I had lain there, unconscious and unmoving as time and the world continued on without me.

I clenched my toes, then my fingers. I was vaguely aware that I was sprawled out on a futon and that my body was almost completely covered in bandages. I don't know how long I lay there, but I eventually tried to move my arms and legs a bit. The limbs were sore and tired, but they were all still in the right places and accounted for.

I squeezed my eyes shut several times. I could see.

Well, sort of. The room was hazy and dark with night, but a little moonlight came in through a small window on the far wall, offering more light than unconsciousness did. I could just make out several lumps strewn across the floor of the room, people curled up on futons like the one I lay on. One was pulled up next to mine, nearly touching. Just before I gave in to my body's exhaustion - and it was sleep this time, real sleep - a soft fragrance touched my senses. I knew I had smelled it before, somewhere, perhaps a long time ago…

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Reviews are appreciated!

Edited and reposted 6.20.05


	2. Kagome-sama

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all related characters, places, etc. are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and any other companies that have legal claim to it. (Who are not me. Pooh.)

**"Forget Me Nots"  
by Jezunya**

**Chapter 1 - Kagome-sama**

I woke several times, sometimes during the day, sometimes at night. Each time my mind would begin to clear, a gnarled hand would appear in my line of vision and stuff some kind of herb in my face, nearly smothering me. I plunged headlong into the darkness again.

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I woke again, this time to blindingly bright light. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to turn my head away from the source of light – presumably the window on the far wall, as I was still in the same little room. I swear I heard something pop and crack as I moved, whether it was my bones or the bandages, I'll never know.

Once I was staring at the wall right next to me, I opened my eyes and let them slowly adjust to the light. I turned my head back toward the rest of the room. I was still getting a sunbeam right in the eye, but other than that my vision seemed to be about perfect.

I surveyed the room. A small fire crackled merrily in the center, cooking some kind of soup or herbs. The futons were stacked neatly in the corner. There were no people in the room – a hut, really – save myself, and I suddenly knew that I wasn't exactly a "person." Not in the normal, _human_, sense of the word, anyway.

I was…

Um…

Well, I didn't know what I was, much less _who_ I was.

I decided to sit up and get a real look around.

Easier said than done.

I spent about a quarter of an hour trying to bend my stiff body into a sitting position, and then ended up leaning back against the wall anyway.

I looked down at myself. My legs were in wooden splints and there were bandages covering everything else. I started pulling the bandages off, gave up, and simply shredded them with the claws I had found at the ends of my fingers. Underneath, my skin was clean and healthy, with only a few blemishes here and there that may have once been open wounds. They looked to be almost completely healed. If I was in this condition under those bandages, then perhaps… I ripped off the splints and climbed to my feet.

I stood up. I shifted my weight around, moving my legs and feet into different positions that felt natural. Okay, so my legs held me. It seemed that I healed very quickly, even things like broken bones. And I knew that my legs had been broken. I sat back down on the futon, panting, and wiped at the sheen of sweat that I hadn't realized was there. I may have been healed, but my body was still stiff and tired.

I bent my arms and legs into different positions, trying to work the kinks out of the muscles, and thought over what I knew about myself. When all I came up with was, "I have claws, I'm a man, and I need to find some clothes," it was not very encouraging.

I stood up again, this time more steadily. There was one thing on my "To Do" list that could be taken care of. I rummaged through the many items that had been stuffed onto the rickety shelves lining the back wall of the hut, tossing aside bags of herbs, casks of foul-smelling potions, and crackling old scrolls. At last I found, folded up in a wicker laundry basket – who would've thought to look for clothing in there? – a pair of red hakama (thankfully in the men's style – there was no way I was dressing up like some priestess!). Underneath these was a plain white under-tunic, though there was no sign of a haori to go over it. I quickly put these on, then sat on the futon again to think.

I had been in some kind of battle, I remembered. I had come out barely alive and …triumphant? Triumphant against what? Who? I didn't know. Correction, I had once known, but now I couldn't remember. One of the bandages I had removed _had _been around my head, after all.

So what now? I thought some more. Someone was trying to keep me asleep for some reason, which meant I was probably a) among enemies, and/or b) dangerous. I glanced at my clawed hands again. That last thought was pretty believable. But it wasn't like they were guarding me very heavily, so… maybe they weren't enemies after all? I scowled and sighed in frustration. What to do, what to do..?

The shuffling sound of feet and the murmur of approaching voices caught my ear, and I suddenly knew exactly what to do. Well, I didn't really _know_, but I was acting on it before I could think. In one fluid, obviously practiced movement, I had crawled out the window and onto the roof of the hut. I stayed low, watching as two human females - one an old, hunched miko and the other a young woman dressed in a simple yukata but carrying a giant boomerang on her back like it was nothing more than a daypack - entered the hut, talking cheerfully to each other.

I was strangely satisfied - okay, smug - when I heard the startled gasps and then saw the two women come running out, looking around franticly.

"Where could he have gone! I didn't see any sign of him on my way back…" the younger girl said, looking both anxious and angry.

"Perhaps the townsfolk have seen him," the hag replied, sounding equally shaken, and began shuffling off toward the west. I blinked and looked in the direction she was headed. I had been so intent on these women that I hadn't noticed my surroundings at all: I was indeed on the edge of a small village.

The younger girl nodded, and started in the other direction, heading out of the town and toward the forest that I was also just noticing. "I'll go find Miroku and Shippou," she called over her shoulder, and broke into a steady jog, hurrying toward the trees. I looked between the two quickly departing figures, and on an impulse chose to follow the girl in the yukata.

I kept to the trees, following silently behind her. She jogged down a well-worn path, looking all about her like a rodent watching out for a predator. A bend in the path led to a small clearing and revealed a man dressed in the robes of a Buddhist priest, quietly playing with a kitsune cub next to a weather-beaten old well.

I couldn't help narrowing my eyes and drawing a sharp breath as the girl skidded to a stop in front of the monk and cub. There was something very familiar about all this. I couldn't put my claw on it, but there was something I seriously did not like about this place.

"Miroku!" the girl called out. The monk looked up, apparently answering to hi name.

"Sango? What is it?" he asked, immediately dropping his antics with the kit and becoming serious when he saw the look on the girl's face.

The girl, Sango, looked around the clearing, scanning the surrounding trees where I was - of course - carefully hidden. "He's gone," she said bluntly, turning back to Miroku.

The monk's eyes widened. "You mean..?" At Sango's nod, he continued. "But.. I thought Lady Kaede was keeping him incapacitated. Wasn't she?"

Sango looked back at him gravely. "She_was_, but she had to leave to see to a sick child in the village. I ran into her on my way back from exterminating that youkai in the village west of here. When we got back to her house, he was gone, and all his bandages had been discarded."

"We haven't been here for very long," the cub finally spoke up, hopping up onto the monk's shoulder. "Maybe he came this way before we did."

Both humans seemed to blanch at the brat's comment. "You don't think.. he went after Kagome-sama?" Miroku said hesitantly, and they all looked at the old well as if expecting it to suddenly explode or something.

Once again, I found myself tensing up at the mention of something - or some_one_, in this case - that I knew I had known before. So the hag, now identified as "Lady Kaede" was supposed to keep me unconscious, eh? And this Kagome-sama.. Whoever it was, the bouzu obviously held quite a bit of respect for them, and the thought of me seeking out this person seemed to worry them.

I watched silently as they held a small discussion about what to do, at last deciding to split up and search the forrest, with the kit running back to the village to alert the hag of their plan. I waited for them to leave, and then turned my attention back to the well they had all been so preoccupied with. So their leader was through there, huh? I smirked, and hopped down, landing perfectly on the wooden rim.

It looked like any old dry well. I scowled in confusion and hopped to the bottom of it. No sign of a trap door, no portal, not even a magical aura. Just dank wood and damp soil. I snorted in disgust and jumped back out in one bound.

As soon as I landed outside, I jumped back in surprise, caught off-guard by the change of scenery, and successfully fell right back into the well. I landed hard on the bottom, and an oddly familiar sensation of being slammed into hard-packed earth washed over me. With a grunt, I managed to get up onto my hands and knees and look up. A moment ago, the ceiling of a small wooden building had replaced the view of the sky, but now all was back to normal.

I huffed in annoyance. So there _was_ a portal in there, but it somehow didn't have any detectable aura. I scowled and growled as I wiped the dirt from my face and then jumped straight up into the air to land right back in the well again.

This time, I was ready for the change in environment as I leapt out. I landed easily on the dirt floor and looked around the small building warily. Oddly, there were no guards, no seals, and no traps that went off as soon as I emerged… nothing to signify that I had just stepped into hostile territory. I took a step forward, towards the short staircase leading up and out, when a wave of nausea washed over me. I stumbled, attempting to stay on my feet and wondering vaguely if I had somehow been poisoned.

It only lasted for a few second, only a few images flashing before my eyes. A girl, beautiful despite her tears and the angry flush of her cheeks, stood before me. She was screaming angrily, her blue eyes flashing, her ebony hair flying out around her. Then she hit me. I stumbled back, more from shock than pain, and then I was in the well-house again.

I was sweating and shaking, kneeling on the dirt floor. _What… was _that I thought as I mopped at my forehead with the back of my hand. Well, obviously, it was a memory. But of what..? I shook my head in frustration and climbed to my feet.

I squinted through the sunlight that poured in when I slid the rickety door open. I stepped out and found myself in the main courtyard of a Shinto shrine compound. Set back from the many small shrine buildings was a sturdy-looking two-story house. It looked like the perfect stronghold for someone who would want me dead. I glanced around warily, and began making my way over to the house, keeping to the shadows along the smaller buildings.

I paused at a large tree next to the house and glanced up the wall. There was a window open on the second floor, the breeze making the curtains move and… carrying a familiar smell down to me. I knit my brows, looking harder up at the window. It was the soft scent that had been next to me the first night I awoke. I definitely wanted to see what was beyond that window now.

I began climbing up the trunk of the tree, my claws digging into the bark easily. There was a branch that hung near the window, and I paused as I came level with it. I could see into the room. On the far wall, directly opposite the window was a wooden door of some kind. I looked around, noticing that there were a few decorations on what parts of the wall I could see, mostly things like butterflies and lacey stuff. I snorted. So whoever lived in that room was a girl. _Huh… Nothing to get worked up over,_ I thought and began to inch my way out onto the branch.

The door suddenly opened, and a middle aged woman stepped into the room. I scuttled back into the shadows of the main trunk, pressing myself against the rough wood and holding very still. I watched the woman suspiciously. Her hair was cut very short and she was dressed in some kind of strange skirt, shirt, and apron, though she seemed to be a servant anyway. She knelt next to something out of my line of vision, a motherly expression on her face.

"How are you feeling?" the servant asked softly, and whatever she was addressing replied with a sort of pathetic-sounding grumble-mumble-groan. "You can't stay up here forever." The other person sniffled. The servant-woman sighed, sounding exasperated, "Kagome…"

I could feel my ears perk up at that. So _this_ was the person giving out the orders. I had to consciously repress the urge to growl out loud. I waited in tense silence for the serving woman to leave, so I could find out just what this "Kagome" had against me.

After what seemed like hours, the servant sighed again, shaking her head slightly, gently patted whatever it was that I couldn't see, and then rose and quietly left the room, the door swinging shut behind her. I grinned triumphantly to myself and crawled down the length of the branch to the open window.

I peered into the room, trying to ignore the wonderful scent filling my senses. A desk at one wall, the door, next to it a pair of sliding doors, no doubt leading to some kind of closet or dressing room as this seemed like a wealthy enough house for a noble family, and… My gaze fell on the bed, apparently where the serving woman had been kneeling. There was a lump under the blankets - a smallish person all curled up on themself.

The person's breathing was slow and even, but too shallow for them to be asleep, and every few seconds it was punctuated with a sniffle. So I perched on the window-sill, waiting to be noticed. After several minutes of just sitting and watching the apparently sick person's back, I was getting understandably annoyed. Finally, I simply opened my mouth and said the first thing that came to mind.

"Oi."

The person in the bed tensed, then ever so slowly, as if they were afraid of what they might find, turned over to look at me.

I nearly fell off the window-sill.

It was the girl from my little "vision" in the well-house. Her eyes were puffy and red, from too much crying and too little sleep, and she was staring at me in utter shock, yet somewhere in the back of my mind I couldn't help thinking that she was still pretty. Her mouth worked for a moment before she found her voice. "I-Inuyasha..? What are you doing here?"

I smirked, easily hiding my surprise at the name she had used. "Looking for you, of course." I added the "of course" as an extra little touch at the end. No use letting potential enemies onto the condition of my memory.

"B-but… You… You're supposed to be asleep!"

"So I've heard," I said darkly, and she seemed to shrink under my glare. "I've also heard that you were the one giving the orders to keep me asleep." She paled as I smirked at her again. "So, _Kagome_," I said, emphasizing her name harshly, "you, are coming with me."

Her eyes widened and I lunged at her.

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Review Please!

Edited & reposted 6.20.05


	3. Fear

As always, none of the characters belong to me, and this time I can't even claim full ownership of the plot, as there have been several amnesia stories written before this one. I think it is the first one where Inuyasha's the one with amnesia, tho..

**"Forget Me Nots"  
by Jezunya**

**Chapter 2 - Fear**

I swung myself up onto the roof of the stronghold by one hand, the other keeping the unconscious girl securely held over my shoulder. I paused there, another small wave of nausea rippling through me, and took that time to review the strangeness of the situation a few moments ago.

The girl hadn't even cried out. A quick hit to the side of her neck and she'd crumpled into my arms. She'd looked afraid at first, when she first saw me, but that had quickly changed into… guilt? When I had spoken to her, she had simply looked guilty, like she'd been caught doing something she knew she shouldn't. And when I'd hit her, she'd looked startled – but not afraid. I briefly wondered at that, the possibility that these people were actually _not_ my enemies once again coming to mind.

I shook my head. Why would someone I was allied with be keeping me unconscious against my will? And besides, there was no harm in taking the girl along with me, just in case I ended up needing a hostage.

_So where do I go now?_ I wondered. Definitely not down the flight of steps leading out of the shrine; there was so much noise, so many foreign scents… It reminded me of a battlefield, it was so noisy… I shook my head and made my way back to the well-house, and back to where I hoped I could find some answers, still feeling rather off-balance with the lack of security. Just who was this Kagome-sama supposed to be if she had nothing more than a middle-aged serving-maid to guard her? With a derisive snort, I leapt over the edge of the well.

I easily climbed up the inside of the well, pausing to peer over the top. Miroku and Sango were back, standing off to my left, conversing in low tones. The path to the village where I'd awoken lay straight ahead of me, and the kitsune brat was just making his way over to the two humans from there. I glanced around once more, then bounded up and out, leaping off the edge with enough force to carry me and the girl on my shoulder through the air to the trees lining the clearing. I heard all three of them gasp and immediately give chase.

"HAHAHA! TOO SLOW, HUMANS!" I yelled, and bounded away through the trees. They continued to follow, falling further and further behind, until I lost them completely in the thick forest. I smirked over my shoulder one last time and turned back to the trees, letting my feet take me where they wanted.

Just when the scent of the human village was finally disappearing, the girl on my shoulder started to wake. She groaned and shifted, mumbling, "Mm..? Inuyasha? Where are we?" She propped her hands on my back, pushing up to try to get a better view of where I had taken her. I just snorted and ignored her. …Until she started wriggling and twisting around, anyway.

"Oi! Quit moving, wench! You want me to drop you?" I snarled at her and she settled for just craning her neck around to see me.

"Where are we?" She seemed much more awake now and I could hear the frown in her voice.

"Keh," I said, and again made a point of ignoring her.

"Fine," she huffed, and squirmed some more before she seemed to find a more comfortable position and relaxed a bit. I looked at the girl oddly; she didn't seem at all worried that an angry dog-demon had just stolen her from her home or that she was now slung over my shoulder like a sack of rice. She almost looked used to it…

I gasped and had to feign a cough to cover it. That was it! I was a dog-demon! I knew, like I knew that I had gold eyes and triangular dog-like ears on top of my head. …Since when did I know that? I didn't know, I just knew… I felt my eyes begin to cross as my own thoughts ran away from me.

I heard the girl let out a sound of surprise and realized I had unknowingly descended to the forest floor in front of a small-looking cave. What in the..?

"Mind putting me down now?" Kagome asked, and I numbly complied. My eyes were still fixed on the cave. It was overgrown with vines and weeds, and I was vaguely aware of the girl as she climbed through the grasses to tug back the partial curtain of greenery from the cave opening. "We've been away since last winter," she mused quietly to herself, almost wistfully, and my recently re-discovered ears picked it up easily. I took a quick check of the forest around us: late summer, maybe even autumn. This place had been uninhabited for almost a year then.

"Well, come on," the girl led the way into the cave and I followed after, glad to be behind her as I was still staring around in confusion at the inside of the cave. Where had I taken us? What was this place..? I stopped when the rock walls widened out into a low-ceilinged room, furnished with a small fire pit, a pile of furs that no doubt served as a bed, and several small shelves that appeared to have been carved right out of the stone. What made me pause, though, what something else entirely: I could smell myself in this cave.

My own scent was everywhere, old, but obviously mine, the most recent seeming to be almost a year old…from the previous winter, like the girl had said. But what surprised me even more perhaps, was that I could smell _her_ scent intermingled with mine all over the place.

She shivered before I could think more on it, saying, "Brr, it's cold in here!" She walked to the end of the chamber where a curtain hung over a crude doorway and disappeared into the room beyond. I could hear her shuffling around in there, the sounds of wood scraping on stone floor and cloth rustling against itself muffled by the curtain barrier. I sat on the bed of furs slowly, feeling awkward in the wake of her familiarity with this place.

"Um, Inuyasha," she came back in from the other room, wringing a piece of thick, warm-looking clothing in her hands and looking like she was summing up her courage to say something difficult. "I… I just wanted to say that… that you have every right to be mad." She looked at me with wide, almost sorrowful eyes.

"Keh. You got that right," I snorted, shooting her a dark look. So why did I feel guilty seeing her all submissive like this?

She nodded solemnly and took another deep breath. "But… I also wanted to say that I'm sorry for… for what happened…"

I snorted again and looked away. "'Sorry' ain't gonna cut it." I tried to ignore the way she flinched and looked at her feet guiltily. Then she just nodded and sighed, and turned to push through the curtain into the other room again.

"I'll… make some ramen…" her voice drifted back to me. I felt my ears literally perk up. Ramen? I knew that word. It was food – it was GOOD food – and I knew that I liked it. But what was it..!

Kagome came back in then, now wearing the warm clothing she'd been holding earlier, which seemed to be some kind of warm, long-sleeved shirt that went over the sleeveless one she'd been wearing before. She had her arms full with several paper-cup things, two pairs of chopsticks, and a metal tea kettle that dangled from one of her small hands. I watched her silently move over to the fire pit and crouch down to deposit the pile she was carrying on the ground next to her. Then she looked up and held the kettle out to me. "Could you go get some water, please?"

I just stared at her dumbly. "Um…"

"Please? I've got to get the fire set up." She kept holding the tea kettle out to me, and after another look at her, I took it reluctantly. I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking where I was supposed to get any water, and just stood and shuffled out of the den.

Once outside, I looked around at the forest. It was beginning to darken; evening was coming. I breathed in deeply, letting my ears swivel around to catch all the little sounds of the forest around me. I stopped when I heard rushing water off to my right, a stream, no doubt, just over the ridge.

I climbed over the little hill and found the stream gurgling along at its base. The winter rains hadn't come yet, so the water was still low enough that I had to set the tea kettle on its side in the middle of the stream and wait for the water to slowly pour into it.

I sat and waited on the stony bank, my arms folded on my knees as I looked all around me, watching and listening. I could hear birds in the trees, see them flitting about as they settled in for the night. I smelled a doe somewhere in the trees on the others side of the stream, wisely keeping her distance when she sensed that I was a predator. And then I smelled something else…

I frowned and looked around, trying to judge where the scent was coming from. And what it was. I couldn't place it, but I knew I'd smelled it before. I felt my hackles rise. I didn't like this scent. It reminded me of…

_Blood. Someone grinning at me, standing over me. Lots of blood. And pain._

The kettle rattled as it finally filled with enough water to move it against the stones in the streambed, and I only realized I'd had another memory-vision when the sound brought me back to the real world. I definitely didn't like this scent. I was considering tracking it down and beating the tail off whatever was making it, but it faded almost as quickly as it had appeared. I shook my head and reached out to pick up the full kettle, wondering if I had imagined it altogether.

When I got back inside the den, I found Kagome sitting on the floor next to the fire pit, a small blaze crackling on the logs she'd set there, the food stuffs she'd brought out earlier waiting on the floor beside her. She looked up when I approached, smiled, and took the tea kettle from me, hanging it on an iron hook that protruded from the wall over the fire.

"We'll have to wait for it to boil," she said quietly as I flopped down next to the fire as well. She watched me get comfortable with my back to the wall. I expected her to either start talking again or to look away and do something else, but she didn't. She just watched me.

"What?" I snapped, and she quickly looked away, blushing lightly.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to stare. I'm just so… happy that you're finally awake." A small, kind of sad smile graced her lips. I growled at her.

"If you're so happy about it, why were you keeping me asleep?" I demanded without thinking.

She winced. I saw something come into her eyes, something remembered that frightened her, and I suddenly wondered if I would regret my harsh words later on. But then she shook her head, smiling ruefully again. "Well.. You know how you get when you're wounded. We can barely get you to sit still, much less stay in bed…" She gave me a small, affectionate smile, but I didn't return it. There was something about her eyes that was off…

She was lying.

The kettle whistled after a few minutes, and Kagome set about pouring the hot water into the paper cups. The scent was amazing. My mouth started to water as soon as I smelled it, and I nearly burned my tongue I ate it so fast. Kagome just shook her head and said I should have waited for it to cool, as she was doing.

After eating, we tossed our empty bowls on the fire to burn, and Kagome took the chopsticks and the tea kettle back into the back room. I figured it must be some kind of storage room. She came back in, yawning and stretching her arms to the ceiling, and gave me a sheepish grin as she made her way over to the bed of furs. "Man, I'm tired…" she yawned, pulling the furs back to slip underneath them.

She watched me sitting against the wall across from her for a little while, before she spoke up. "Inuyasha…?"

"What?"

She pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to ask me something, but then changed her mind, and said softly, "Never mind." I was glad when she rolled over to face away from me. I had been a little afraid that she might ask me to come lay with her.

It had confused me earlier – I had smelled both of us on the bed when I'd sat there earlier, but from her scent the girl was still a virgin. Maybe… it was just for warmth, as she had said that we had stayed here in the winter. But that was the kind of thing that packs did, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to accept her as pack yet. As far as I knew I was a one-man pack, and it was supposed to stay that way.

But maybe that was why she hadn't been frightened of me. Even when I growled at her, which I was sure was a pretty intimidating sound, she looked like she was used to it all, like she was just taking it in stride.

Maybe she wasn't an enemy at all. Maybe… But why had she lied earlier? Why had they been keeping me asleep? I was perfectly fine now, so what had been the problem? I shook my head in frustration, folding my arms as I watched the furs rise and fall with her steady breathing.

What could have possibly frightened her like that?

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I woke suddenly. The cave was dark and beginning to grow cold as the last embers of the fire began to die. It was the dead of night.

I couldn't stop the shaking that had overtaken me. I kept seeing the visions from my dream. Blood. So much blood. And joy. I had rejoiced as I ripped them apart…

_Who?_ My hands clenched at the sides of my head. I had killed, and I had loved it, and I couldn't even remember who or why or how. My eyes fell on the girl, curled in the furs on the other side of the cave. She had made me think of this, made me remember this. I hated it - the look in her eyes when she had remembered earlier but wouldn't speak of what frightened her. I hated her for making me remember why she was frightened. And I hated myself for making her frightened.

I didn't sleep the rest of the night.

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The next day seemed monotonous at best. I really had no idea what I was supposed to do now. Kagome seemed perfectly content to just hang around the den for a while, but I was getting edgy.

How was I supposed to go about regaining my memory? I could always just sit and wait and hope that it would gradually return on its own, but I kept having this nagging feeling of urgency, of something that told me that waiting would be disastrous. There was something important that was going to happen, and I needed to know what it was before it came, or I could end up putting both Kagome and I in danger.

That brought my thoughts to a screeching halt. I flicked a glance over to the girl, who had her back to me, straightening the furs on the bed after she had slept in them. Since when was I worried about putting her in danger? But then, since when did it bother me that she was afraid of something but wouldn't tell me what it was? I shook my head slightly, leaning back against the wall again as I still hadn't moved from the night.

How could it be that this was normal? That I was supposed to be sitting here, sharing a den with a human girl? And that said human girl wasn't afraid of me in the slightest?

…Well, except for that thing that had scared her, of course.

I shook my head again, but stopped when Kagome gave me an odd look. I glared at her and folded my arms, looking away toward the cave entrance. Maybe it would be best to just ask her, be straight-forward about it. I mean, she certainly didn't _seem _like an enemy. But could I trust her that much?

I took a deep breath. "Oi, Kagome." It was the first time I'd really used her name, not counting when I had kidnapped her the day before; it felt good to say it. She looked up from the book that she'd pulled off of one of the shelves by the bed. Her gaze was expectant but patient. I suddenly found myself at a loss for words. "Um, uh…" I fidgeted, looking anywhere but at her. "I… I need to tell you something…"

"What is it?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"Um, I…" I scratched the back of my neck nervously, trying to build up the nerve to tell her about my little memory problem. "Uh, never mind…" Or not…

"Are you sure?" she asked sincerely. I couldn't help feeling a little warmth at how concerned she seemed for me. I nodded and she gave me a dubious look. I tried to look innocent and just settled back against the wall.

The next instant I felt a wave of power wash over me, probing and poking gently. I looked up sharply and Kagome quickly averted her gaze.

_What the..? Did she just..? _I felt sweat begin to collect on my forehead as I stared at her. I'd never felt anything like that. It was like a warm hand passing over me – checking for physical injury, I somehow knew. It also occurred to me that, upon finding me in perfect physical condition, that power would have gone on to probe into my mental condition, into my thoughts.

I shuddered despite myself, realizing how close I'd come to being found out.

8-888-8

A/N: Before anyone says anything, yes, I know Kagome said 'sit' in this chapter. However, in Japanese there are different forms of the word: 'suwate' is polite and used for humans, and would be the form used here. 'Osuwari' is a term only used to tell a dog to sit, and it's considered rude to say that to a person, and Kagome only uses it when she is specifically seeking to activate the spell on the rosary. So you can see why it makes Inuyasha so mad – not only does he get body-slammed into the ground when she says that, but it's also sort of poking fun at the fact that he's half _dog_-demon. nn; …Besides, he's not wearing the necklace, remember? He would've said something about it when he first woke up.

Anyway, review please!

Edited & re-posted 6.21.05


	4. Scars

"**Forget Me Nots"  
by Jezunya**

**Chapter 3 - Scars**

"This is so stupid…" I grumbled, my arms folded over my chest as I leaned back against the large boulder.

"Oh stop complaining, I'll only be a few minutes," Kagome's voice came back to me from the other side of the rock outcropping. I tried not to think of what she must be doing over there. Taking her clothes off and slipping into the water… putting that soapy stuff in her hair and all over her- I shook my head violently, telling myself to knock it off. I couldn't believe I was even thinking like this!

I briefly wondered what the big deal was about bathing. She hadn't smelled all that bad to me. But nevertheless, she had insisted that she needed to bathe and to change into 'normal clothes,' since I had apparently kidnapped her while she was in her 'pajamas.' I could only guess that the warm pants and sleeveless tunic she wore were sleeping clothes.

I sighed and settled back against the boulder, letting my eyes trail up to the sky. How on earth had I let this happen? She was supposed to be my hostage, only Kagome didn't seem to see it that way. I had taken her from her home by force and yet she acted completely at home with me and in the den. I didn't get it.

_I should tell her…_

It all came down to that, I decided with a sigh. I sure wasn't making any progress on my own, and Kagome seemed to know what was going on. The question was, would she tell me anything? More importantly, would she tell me the truth? I sighed again. Only one way to find out…

My thoughts were cut short as I heard the distinct splashing sounds of someone exiting the water of the river behind me. It suddenly occurred to me that Kagome's towel and 'normal clothes' were sitting on the ground, neatly folded right beside me. Before that thought could connect in my brain, Kagome walked around the boulder, smiled sheepishly down at me, picked up her clothes, and walked back around to the river.

I sat in frozen terror. I was so sure she was going to kill me right then. She had just walked right in front me nearly naked! Sure, she had some kind of form-fitting, shiny thing covering her body, but that was still a heck of a lot of skin! I could see all the way up to her hips! How could that girl walk around like that so casually! I slapped a hand over my face, hoping I wasn't getting a nose bleed just thinking about it.

When she came back around to where I was sitting, smiling and toweling her hair dry, my eyes nearly fell out of my head again. Those were her 'normal clothes'! I could practically see all of her legs again! At least now she had her rear covered, and it wasn't quite so tight, but I thought I might still be hard-pressed to keep my eyes on her face the whole time.

She smiled at me and knelt down to put her bath things back in the bag she'd brought from the den. My thoughts finally returned to what was important (besides Kagome's legs) – I needed to talk to her about my memory lapse. How to go about it though? I stood when she looked about done and headed back toward the den, walking a few paces ahead of her. For some reason, I just didn't want to have to face her when I told her. She walked along behind me.

"Kagome?" I asked, fiddling with the sleeve of my white kimono.

"Yeah?"

"Um…" I scratched my neck nervously. "There's, um, something I really need to talk to you about. It's, uh, kind of important…" I could hear her shift her bag on her shoulder behind me. "I… I don't really know how to say it," I admitted, even though I knew I was just stalling.

After a long silent moment, she spoke and I could practically hear the smile in her voice. "Inuyasha…" She sounded half-exasperated, half-teasing. "You know you only have to ask if you've thought of a good use for the Jewel."

"The Jewel?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, but not turning to look at her.

"Yeah, 'the Jewel,'" she laughed, mimicking my tone as if I should know exactly what she was talking about. "You know, the Shikon no Tama, that little thing we only spent over three years putting back together?"

I stopped short, caught off-guard by her statement. We'd spent three whole years working together! Before I could stop and think about what I was saying, it escaped: "What!"

I heard the girl slow to a stop behind me, her breathing going all weird, becoming more uneven. "What do you mean, 'what'?" she asked quietly, still sounding half-amused. Then she sounded worried. And scared. "Inuyasha..?" I heard her take a step back.

I muttered a curse and turned to look back at her. She took another step away from me. She looked suspicious, but the dominating emotion on her face was still fear. I couldn't mentally laughing at the irony of my situation: now, when it was suddenly obvious that I had no clue what she was talking about half the time; now, when I couldn't hurt her because I needed information;now, when I was no longer trying to intimidate her; _now_, she was afraid of me.

"W-who..?" She didn't seem to be looking at me anymore, her gaze going right through me. Finally, she looked me right in the face. "You… You're not really Inuyasha, are you..?" I could only stare at ger her silently. How was I supposed to respond to a question like that if I didn't know the answer myself?

"Kagome…" I began, stepping toward her and reaching out a hand in what I hoped would be seen as a friendly gesture. Apparently not, as I heard her heartbeat suddenly spike, and she turned and ran. I swore and took a running leap after her.

I came down on her like a hawk on a mouse, knocking her off her feet and pinning her arms to her sides as we tumbled and rolled off the path. In the end, we were both dirty and scraped, but I managed to be on top, holding her down and practically hugging the life out of her as she struggled. "Kagome, just listen to me!" I hissed in her ear.

"Let go of me!"

"Kagome—"

"Let… GO!" Some kind of power suddenly erupted out of her, burning me and blasting me back away from her. I suddenly knew what that strange sense of power around her was. It was the same power that had washed over me earlier that morning, though then it had been gentle, benevolent.

Kagome was a miko.

_This just keeps getting better and better,_ I thought, swearing a blue-streak as I climbed rather painfully to my feet. I looked up to find Kagome facing me, half-crouched in a rough fighting stance.

"Who are you?" she demanded, watching me carefully.

I growled and tried to reach out to her again. "Kagome–"

The aura around her suddenly flared and I pulled my hand back with a hiss as it burned me again.

"Who are you!" she demanded again, the air around her crackling with energy. "Where's Inuyasha!"

"I don't know!" I yelled back, nursing my injured hand.

"What!" She glared at me and I almost took a step back – she looked ready to kill. "Why are you impersonating Inuyasha?" she ground out, her aura sparking dangerously.

"I don't know!" I growled again. Dangit, but I didn't even know that I _was_ impersonating anybody!

She seemed to force herself to calm down a little, though she still looked upset. "Tell me who you are," she said, her voice straining to stay at a more normal volume.

I tried hard to keep from growling. Really, I did. "I. Don't. Know!"

She stared at me, looking angry, then confused, and then just narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What is that supposed to mean!"

"I have no memory of anything before I woke up, that's what!" I snarled, flinging my hands around in frustration. Okay, so that wasn't completely true, but I didn't think the little visions I kept having counted for much.

Kagome looked at me unsurely. "Before you… woke up?" I nodded, continuing to glare at her. She looked away, her eyes widening, and then her hand came up to cover her face as if she were realizing something terrible. "Tell me," she said, her voice pained from behind her hand.

I let out a long breath and began, still watching her warily. "I woke up in a hut in the village near here, covered in bandages, even though I was fine underneath. So I got dressed and followed some girl, um…" I had to think of what her name was, "…Sango, out to a well in the forest. She talked to this monk and kitsune brat and she kept saying 'He's gone.'" I said a bit sheepishly, "I assumed they were talking about me, 'cause she and that Kaede hag went into the hut I woke up in just after I left and then they both went off to look for me." Kagome nodded, her face unreadable, and motioned for me to continue. I cleared my throat before speaking again.

"The monk said something about me going after 'Kagome-sama,' so I figured you were their leader." Kagome smiled ruefully and shook her head at this. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what was so funny, but continued anyway. "They kept looking at the well, so I thought maybe it was a portal or something, and I jumped into it and went and got you." I shrugged, looking at her honestly and waiting for her ultimatum.

Kagome nodded, turning away from me to sit down on the grassy hillside, looking thoughtful and a little lost. After a few moments she said softly, "You really don't remember… anything?"

I nodded and looked away, just standing there uncomfortably. She looked up at me and I raised my eyebrows questioningly, looking back. "All this time… you were pretending?"

I shifted awkwardly. "It's not like I had a choice…" I mumbled lamely, trying to defend myself.

She nodded, a weary smile tugging on her lips. "That's just like you. You get into a difficult situation and you try to act all tough, like nothing's wrong." I flushed and looked away at her affectionate tone. She just smiled wider and turned away as I dropped to my haunches to sit as well.

"I just can't believe it…" she said after a few moments, staring out at the sky. "You really don't remember anything?" she asked again suddenly, looking at me beseechingly. I swallowed and shook my head. It was all I could do.

Kagome sighed and pulled her legs up to her chest, preparing to stand. "Well, I guess we'll just have to try to get you to remember, huh? Come on." She patted my hand and rose, not seeing my startled look or the redness that spread across my face at the familiar action. What was with this girl!

I stood and we began making our way back to the den once again, both now much more subdued. I guess Kagome just didn't know what to say now that she knew I had no idea what she was talking about. I stifled a sigh. It had been, well, kinda _nice_ how easy-going and unafraid she had been around me before…

As we came around a bend in the path, I heard signs of life. I stopped and sniffed. Kagome stopped next to me, and didn't speak, just watched me patiently as if she recognized the signs of me going on full alert. I frowned, ignoring her. It was the monk and the girl from the village. But what were they doing here?

Kagome continued to watch me. "Inuyasha?" she asked quietly.

I shook my head, frowning. "There's someone ahead on the path, just in front of the cave entrance," I said just as quietly and began walking again. May as well just face them and get it over with, I figured. Besides, Kagome would be able to tell me if they were enemies or not.

We came around the bend and Kagome gasped when she saw the two standing there, although I had expected the sight. "Sango-chan, Miroku-sama!" she cried, rushing forward to greet them. She hugged the girl, who smiled and returned the embrace, and nodded politely at the monk, though I noticed she kept well away from him and his hands. Keh, stupid lech.

"Are you alright, Kagome-chan?" the other girl asked, concerned. I tried not to be too irritated at that. What'd they think, that I'd hurt her or something?

Kagome smiled at both humans. "I'm fine."

"And Inuyasha..?" the monk asked, frowning, his staff jangling softly as he shifted his weight. Kagome looked over to where I still waited, the humans following her gaze. The two gasped quietly, and shifted minutely into slightly more defensive positions. "Is he..?" Miroku began, not taking his eyes off of me.

"It's okay," Kagome tried to calm them, touching the monk's shoulder. "Everything's alright, except…" My eyes narrowed, my entire form tensing as a score of thoughts rushed through my head. Was she going to tell them about the condition of my memory? Had it all been a trick? Would they attack me as soon as they knew I was at a disadvantage? …Was Kagome going to betray me?

Kagome must have seen my change in expression, or somehow gotten the message that I definitely wanted that information to stay between just her and me. She paused, her eyes turning questioning as she watched me for a moment, before slowly speaking again. "..Except that Inuyasha and I wanted some time alone for a while. You know, sort of catch up on everything that's happened since the battle." She turned away from me, smiling reassuringly at the humans again.

Sango nodded slowly, still giving me an uneasy look, while the monk arched an eyebrow, grinning lewdly. "Of course, you would want to 'catch up' on all the time missed while he was asleep…"

"Miroku-sama!" Kagome screeched, her face flaming, while Sango just rolled her eyes and gave him a sharp crack over the head with her fist.

"You'd think he'd have learned by now…" she muttered, stooping to grab the now-unconscious monk under the arms. She looked at Kagome again, "Well, if you're sure you're alright, we'll leave you to yourselves then." With one last hard, suspicious look at me, she turned to make her way back to the human village, dragging the monk behind her.

I shook my head, still unsure of what to make of those two humans, and followed Kagome back into the den.

888

Kagome restarted the fire from the night before and the warmth almost immediately filled the cave, pushing away the chill from the cold stone walls. She seated herself on the fur bed, folding her hands around her knees and looking deep in thought.

"Tell me what you remember," she said softly after several long, silent moments.

I shifted uncomfortably under her steady gaze, back in my spot across the den from her. "Not much," I finally conceded, staring down at my feet so I wouldn't have to look at her. "Just… little things, ya know?" I glanced up at her, hoping she did know.

"Like..?" Kagome prompted, lifting her eyebrows at me.

The first thing that came to mind was her scent. Right when I had first woken up and she had been lying on the futon next to mine, I had recognized that soft, sweet scent, although at the time I hadn't the faintest idea why it seemed to relax me so much, allowing me to finally get some real sleep without those stinking herbs the hag kept sticking in my face. But I wasn't about to tell _her_ that, of course.

"There are some things that seem… familiar. Like I should know what they are, but I can't quite remember."

Kagome nodded. "Well, that's something, at least."

I nodded in agreement, clearing my throat. "I mean, it's almost everything. Like I feel like I should know certain people or places, and then when I see the place or the person does something, I just know that it fits, even though I have no way of knowing."

"But you don't remember any specific people, or events?" Kagome pressed, frowning slightly now.

_I remember you,_ I said silently, thinking of her scent, and my vision in the well-house. "I remember… being in a fight. No, some kind of big battle. I got pretty badly hurt, and you… you were there…" I trailed off, frowning. There was something wrong there. Kagome shouldn't have been there, I knew that much. And… something about a sword… Across from me, Kagome shifted, looking rather uncomfortable.

"You, uh, want some breakfast?" she asked after a beat of silence, changing the subject. She was already standing and making her way to the storage room in the back. I just snorted, glancing toward the front entrance of the den. We hadn't eaten yet today, what with Kagome sleeping late, and then insisting on taking time out to bathe. Not to mention the mini-battle we'd had on the way back... Whatever, I didn't really care if it was morning or noon. Ramen was a pretty universal meal.

Her behavior just now had only confirmed my thoughts, though. She wasn't supposed to be in that battle for some reason, but why? My instincts told me she had fought beside me before, or were my thoughts just being influenced by her earlier statement that we had worked together for three years? I shook my head; this line of thought was too confusing, at least until I knew more.

After we ate, I felt myself becoming uncomfortably warm. I tried moving a little farther from the fire, but to no avail – the heat permeated throughout the den. I was still hot. So, almost unthinkingly, I began to remove my shirt.

It wasn't until I had it all the way off and was wadding it up to toss it on the floor across the den from me that Kagome looked up, a smile slowly forming on her face. I raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if she was getting some… _improper_ thoughts.

"You still have so many scars," she commented softly, surprising me when she looked up to meet my gaze. Her smile wasn't suggestive – it was gentle, even sad. Remembering events long ago, hurts that had since healed over.

I looked down at myself, my eyes tracing the many scars criss-crossing my abdomen. They stood out against the rest of my skin, having only just healed. These were from this most recent battle, I knew. There were others, though, more faded, from times long past.

My gaze caught on the largest one, radiating out from my navel like a huge white sun, as thick as my arm if not thicker. I touched it lightly, gasping with the sudden flash of memory that came with it.

Claws biting into my back… poison eating at my flesh… pain, white hot pain… and that cursed sword again – I couldn't let him use it, couldn't let him kill them… I couldn't let her die…

"What's this from?" I asked thickly, closing my eyes, though it did nothing to dispel the memory from my mind.

"Sesshoumaru," Kagome said softly, surprising me as her voice came from right beside me. She must have moved closer when she saw me wince at the memory.

"Who?"

"Your half-brother," she said, her voice almost a sigh. "He was going to use the Tetsusaiga to kill us all, but you ran up and grabbed his arm before he could swing it. He punched a hole through your middle with his other hand." She touched the small of my back with the tips of her fingers, and I half-shuddered, knowing that was where his hand had gone through.

Part of Kagome's speech echoed in my mind. The sword. It was called Tetsusaiga. The Steel-Cleaving Fang. It nagged at my mind… What did that have to do with the battle I'd remembered earlier?

Kagome touched my right hand lightly, drawing me out of my thoughts. I hadn't noticed before, but now that I looked my hand and forearm were laced with old scars. They looked to be old burn marks, but from what? Yes, fire would burn me, but not so badly that it would leave a scar - with my half-demon blood, only the worst wounds left lasting marks. I glanced at my other hand, noting the half-healed flesh from when Kagome had burned me just earlier that day. …Could Kagome have given me these scars?

I looked back at my right hand, wondering. Kagome's hand had closed over mine, or as much as her smaller one could, her thumb lightly tracing the scars on my skin. She was half-leaning against my shoulder, probably without even realizing it, and I decided that I didn't completely dislike the feel of it. I looked back down at our hands and let my fingers curl around hers. She gave my hand a squeeze, and then pulled away, standing and moving away across the den.

"It is getting rather warm in here…" she murmured. She emptied what was left of the water in the tea kettle onto the fire, dousing out part of it, and then moved toward the storage room in the back. Halfway there, she grasped the bottom edge of her sweater and began to pull it off over her head. She was partially turned away from me, so she probably didn't mean for me to see, but I did anyway: as she pulled off the thick over-shirt, it caught the hem of the lighter tunic she wore underneath, pulling it partway up with it. The shirt rode up, giving me a view of her abdomen above the waistline of her skirt and of the five bright scars running from one hip up to disappear under her shirt.

And then she was pulling her clothing back into place and had disappeared into the back room. She probably didn't even realize that I'd seen.

I couldn't deny that I was shaken. I had said before that when I saw something familiar, I would know that it was right, and this time, I really knew - that _wasn't_ right. Kagome wasn't supposed to have any scars like that. Sure, maybe a nick or a bump here or there, but nothing serious. I wouldn't let her get hurt like that!

I'm sure on some level I realized just how rapidly my protective feelings for the girl were growing, but because of said protective streak I felt I had every right to, and even _should_ feel that way. Which was why I also felt completely justified in the murderous rage that came over me.

It wasn't the kind of rage that would usually have me swearing my mouth off and destroying anything that was unlucky enough to cross my path – because I knew I got that kind sometimes too. No, this was cold, calm, and probably all the more deadly because of it. And it all came from one interesting bit of information: the scars on Kagome's stomach consisted of four slashes close together, with a fifth slightly further out. Put quite simply, claw marks.

Someone had tried to kill her, and if I ever found them, I'd make them wish they'd never been born.

8-888-8

Review please!

Edited and re-posted 6.22.05


	5. Enemies

A/N: Eh… sorry this has taken so long, everyone. And that it's shorter than usual – the ending to this chapter was just too perfect. n.n;

"**Forget Me Nots"  
by Jezunya**

**Chapter 4 – Enemies**

I grumbled low in my throat as I followed a pace or two behind Kagome; not really a growl, but still an unhappy noise. Kagome wanted me to talk to Kaede about my memory problem, seemed to think the old hag would be able to help. I didn't think so. We had argued about it for a good quarter-hour, while Kagome had slowly been luring me out of the den and onto the trail that led to the hag's village. Even now, we were making our way back there, Kagome happily jabbering on as she led the way. She knew she'd won. Or at least, she knew I'd given in enough to stop arguing with her for the time being. I figured I'd give it one last try when we came to the village.

A scent caught my attention suddenly, tugging my head around to stare out at the trees lining the trail. I growled, low, angry, and deadly. _This_ I remembered. Well, maybe not from before, but at least from the other day, when I had smelled it as I was getting water from the stream by the den. I knew this smell, and I hated it.

Kagome paused and looked back at me, frowning. "Inuyasha..?" she asked softly.

I ignored her and took off into the trees. No hesitation this time, no thinking. I was going to find whatever – _who_ever – that scent came from, and I was going to kill them. A half-acknowledged insight came to me as I ran: maybe this was the person who had hurt Kagome…

I stopped when I came to a clearing in the trees, a small thatch-roofed house set in its center. I blinked. _That_ didn't seem right… I stood there, bewildered, as I heard Kagome tramping through the trees behind, occasionally calling my name. She caught up with me after a moment or two, stopping just behind me to catch her breath before she too surveyed the scene before us.

Kagome seemed completely unfazed, and she glanced at me after a minute. "Inuyasha?"

I frowned. "I thought I smelled something…" I was sure I'd smelled something, in fact. Something sinister, evil. It was a smell that made my blood boil and my insides freeze all at once. Rage and fear, all rolled into one. At least, I thought that was what I smelled…

Kagome must have seen the emotions warring on my face, because her eyes suddenly lit with understanding, and she brushed past me into the clearing, a slight smile on her face.

"Kanna!" she called, making her way toward the house. "You in?"

I watched her, a sudden wave of suspicion overtaking me. Something wasn't right here…

A tall woman poked her head out from around the back of the house, looking around for whoever had come calling. Her crimson eyes landed on Kagome, and a hint of annoyance passed through them, though she smiled nonetheless.

"Ah! Kagura!" Kagome smiled, sounding pleasantly surprised.

"Kagome," the woman nodded, wiping her hands on the front of her plain kimono as she came forward. The woman was a youkai, though I couldn't tell what kind from her scent or appearance. The scent of dog hung around her, but beneath it, I could smell what had originally drawn me here.

She didn't seem to have noticed me yet. Just as well, as I felt myself begin to back toward the trees again. When I was sure Kagome wasn't looking, I turned and bolted into the forest, running as silently and quickly as I was able. It wasn't long before I was back on the trail to the village, and I paused, looking in either direction.

I could go back to the den or on to the village… They both seemed like walking straight into enemy territory, though. Either way, Kagome would find me again. I shook out my mane and glanced behind me into the trees to make sure I wasn't being followed, and on an impulse took the trail toward the village. Before I got close enough to be seen, though, I retreated into the trees, skirting around the edge to the other side. Again, I took to the trees.

Something was calling me, egging me on, pulling me deeper into the forest. I vaguely recognized that I was passing near the well that led to Kagome's world, but I didn't stop there either. I leapt from tree to tree, not wanting to be seen should there be any villagers or that cursed monk and taiji-ya in the forest, and then it was right in front of me.

I dropped down to the ground, landing in a crouch in front of the huge tree. I sat, knitting my brows up at it. I still didn't know what had called me here, except that I needed to think and this was a good spot. Shrugging to myself, I stood and scaled the side of the tree, settling myself on a large branch high up from the ground.

That Kagura woman was my enemy, I was sure of it. And Kagome had acted like they were friends. So now what? I was back to square one. No, further back, I growled as I propped my chin on my hand. I couldn't even mull over if Kagome was my enemy or not – I was back to when I had first woken up. Just like then, I didn't know anything for sure, except that all the evidence said that Kagome and her companions were my enemies. I growled and slammed my fist down on the branch in frustration. Feeling lost and altogether dissatisfied, I slid off the branch and let myself fall the distance to the ground.

I landed on the huge gnarled roots of the tree and put a hand out to steady myself as I stood. My fingers brushed a strangely smooth patch on the tree's bark, and I looked up, puzzled. It looked almost like the bark had been worn away over a long period of time, leaving nothing but the smooth wood beneath, or… I pressed my hand flat against it, my senses delving deep into the tree, searching.

There were still traces of it… A large blast of youki, wisps of a broken sealing spell…

I felt my blood run cold as light flashed behind my eyes, snatches of scenes replaying themselves before me.

_Betrayal. Anger._

_At last… It's mine..!_

"_Inuyasha!"_

_My eyes widened…_

There was a pain in my chest so sharp that it left me on my knees, gasping for breath as the vision ended. My claws dug into the wood beneath me. That face… that girl… She shot me..! She shot me! Kagome shot me and sealed me to this very tree!

My eyes narrowed as I flexed my claws again, cold rage boiling through me. She almost fooled me too, the little witch. Almost got me back in the village with the old hag so they could put me asleep again. I snarled.

A twig snapped behind me.

I was immediately up in one of the smaller trees, silent and deadly, waiting for whoever had followed me. A man walked into the clearing, looking around. He was of medium build and height, with straight black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and absolutely nothing remarkable about him. Even his kimono was a flat grey color, probably made of cheap cotton or wool. I raised an eyebrow as he continued to look around.

"Inuyasha! Come out, I know you're here!" I answered him with silence, not moving from my spot in the trees. The man waited for a moment or two, then sighed, tilted his head back, and began sniffing the air. He was under my tree in a matter of moments.

"Found you," he grinned, just before I snarled and dropped on him.

I tried to get my hands around his throat as we fell hard to the ground, but he seemed to know something about fighting. He flipped me off of him and leapt to his feet, spinning around to face me as he too recovered. We circled each other slowly, and he just kept grinning at me. His muscles tensed and I prepared myself for an attack, but then he straightened, threw his head back and laughed. I blinked, feeling oddly cheated.

He stopped laughing and looked at me, still grinning. "Sorry," he said, his voice smooth, low. "I'm just so glad to have finally found you. After the battle, well…" He looked at the ground, his face grim.

Battle… Yes, there had been a battle, I had known that from the beginning. And I had won! ..Hadn't I? I regarded the man suspiciously. He looked human enough, but his scent said otherwise. If I wasn't mistaken, he was a hanyou …like me. It would make sense for us to be allies then.

"Who are you?" My voice sounded harsh and gravely, even to me. Fellow hanyou or not, I wasn't about to take him at face value.

He surveyed me silently for a moment, his lips pursed. "You really don't remember, do you? She blasted you pretty hard in that battle, so I guess it must have knocked some things loose in your head."

"Who?" His eyes were a deep, dark black that glinted red in the dappled light of the forest. I didn't like the calculating look he kept giving me. Like he was the only one playing with a full deck, and he knew it.

"The girl, of course. Kagome. Who else?" He frowned at me, like I'd said something idiotic. He must have seen my skeptical look, because he continued. "What, did that blast erase your intelligence along with your memory? She's a _miko_, Inuyasha, and a powerful one at that. Or did you forget that too?" He snorted, shaking his head.

I had to admit, it did strike a chord in my mind. Kagome was a miko, and after that little vision by the tree… I kept glaring at him, though, determined not to be taken in so easily as I had been with Kagome. For all I knew, this was just another trap to lure me back to the village and unconsciousness.

His eyes bored into me. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. "You don't trust me," he finally said.

I rather colorfully asked what he had expected.

He shook his head. "No, I mean you don't _believe_ me. Naturally you don't trust me, just like I don't trust you – we don't trust anyone, remember?" He seemed to catch himself, grinned. "Sorry, I guess you don't. But now you know – I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, and you shouldn't trust anyone either." I couldn't help mumbling an agreement, again thinking of Kagome and the vision.

"What do you know about the demoness Kagura?" I asked after a moment, slanting a look back up at him.

His face darkened. "She's a traitor. She used to work with me, but now she's allied with the miko-girl. She turned against her own kind." He seemed to be caught up in his own thoughts for a moment, eyes glinting red and smoldering with suppressed rage. Then he shook himself out of it and continued. "I thought she was dead, but then she reappeared on the miko's side, along with someone else…"

A name came to my mind, into my mouth. Something clicked into place. "Sesshoumaru."

He smiled darkly, nodded. "Your brother, yes. You're starting to remember."

I looked at the ground, thinking. "He… did something to heal her… and… now they're mates, or… allies at least…" I closed my eyes, shaking my head. A sharp pain was forming right between my eyes.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him nod again. "And your brother hates you even more than he hates the miko, making him more _our_ enemy than hers. And she'll likely soon be able to turn him completely against us, now that they know you're awake again."

I nodded, but something was nagging at the back of my mind. Hadn't I… saved Kagome in that fight..? More than once, in fact. Sesshoumaru kept trying to kill her, and I… I shook my head. The memories didn't come so easily as when I was with Kagome.

"What is it?" He didn't sound concerned, just mildly interested.

I blinked my eyes several times, staring at the ground in thought. "Kagome said something about Sesshoumaru… There was a fight, where he tried to kill her… but I stopped him, and he punched a hole through my stomach…"

He made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. "The witch must have planted that memory in your mind. Yes, you fought Sesshoumaru, many times in fact, but never for _her._" He drew back at my dubious look, growling. "Kami, Inuyasha, what is _wrong_ with you! You're a youkai, she's a miko – how could you believe anything she said!"

"I don't know!" I snarled back. "She just… I thought I was remembering things…" I looked away, feeling foolish.

He shook his head grimly. "You can't trust anyone, Inuyasha, especially not her." He paused, watching me. " You got too close to her and she turned on you. She shot you, almost killed you. Right over there," he gestured past me, back to the huge tree I'd been sitting in. "She's our enemy, Inuyasha, and don't forget it."

I stared at the blank patch on the tree.

"I won't."

8-888-8

/pulls on flame-resistant gear/ Okay! I'm ready! Review to your heart's content!

Edited and re-posted 6.22.05


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